Automatic water-supply system.



J. JOHNSON. 7 AUTOMATIC WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM.

. APPLIGATION FILED JULY 1, 1905.

898,480, Patented Sept. 15, 1908 3 SHBETS-SHEET 1 68 g5 sq umuummmm 1mlmmmmz Wihnessas J. JOHNSON. AUTOMATIC WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM.

APPLIOATLON PILED JULY l, 1905.

Patented Sept. 15, 1908.

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J JOHNSON AUTOMATIC WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM.

PPLIOATION FILED JULYl, 190" Patented Sept. 15,1908.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

.TOHN JOHNSON, OF OVERLAND PARK, MISSOURI, 'ASSIGNOR TO THE COUNTRYHYDRANT COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF MISSOURI.

AUTOMATIC WATER-SUPPLY SYSTEM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 1, 1905.

Patented Sept. 15, 1908.

Serial No. 267,909.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN JOHNSON, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of Overland Park, county of St. Louis, and State of Missouri,have invented a new and useful Improvement in Automatic Water- SupplySystems, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to systems of water distribution employing tanks tobe wholly or partly submerged in the water or the liquid to be raisedand distributed and compressed to force the water from the tank'andthrough the mains.

It has for its principal objects to furnish a supply of water or otherliquid uninterrupted during the period during which the tank is filling;to provide a tank having two chambers one of which empties into theother; to provide a system which is applicable to drilled or boredwells; to provide a controlling mechanism which will oppose a' greaterresistance to movement of the tank in one direction than the other; toprovide a controlling mechanism Which is capable of adjustment to varythe ratio of the resistance to movement of the tank in one direction tothe resistance to movement in the opposite direction; to provide an aircock or valve which will not be distorted and rendered leaky by thethrust of the upward movement of the tank.

My invention consists in the parts and in the combinations andarrangements of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification andwherein like symbols refer to like parts wherever they occur, Figure 1is a broken sectional view through a bored well showing my apparatus inplace in the well, the parts being shown in the position assumed whenthe tank is filled and ready to deliver water; Fig. 2 is a sideelevational view of the controlling mechanism; Fig. 3 is a brokensectional view through a bored well showing my apparatus in place in thewell, with a modified form of control mechanism, the tank being shown insection and the parts being in the position assumed when the tank isfilling; Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of the controlling mechanismof Fi 3; Fig. 5 is afront elevational view on an en arged scale of themodified form of controlling mechanism in the position assumed when thetank has been filled; Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view through theair cook or valve; Fig. 7 is a transverse sectional view through thetank; Fig. 8 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view through theconnection between the two chambers of the tank.

The tank which is preferably used in the present system comprises twochambers into one of which the water is admitted from without and fromwhich the water is forced by compressed air into the second chamber fromwhich latter the water passes to the mains. The two chambers are ineffect two tanks rigidly connected together.

The tank is made, preferably, of sheet metal sections 1, 2. The lowersection 1 has a head 3 at its lower end and at its opposite end isprovided with an internally screwthreaded ring 4. The upper section 2has a head 5 at its upper end and an internally screwthreaded ring 6 atits lower end. A plate 7 having externally screw-threaded flangesextending upon its opposite sides is screwed into said internallyscrew-threaded rings 4, 6, secures the two sections firmly together andconstitutes a wall between them. Thus a long tank having two chambers isprovided. This tank may be as long as may be necessary to give therequired capacity and the diameter of the tank may be small enough topermit its insertion in wells of the smallest sizes customarily drilledor bored.

A pipe 8 extends centrally through the upper chamber of the tank,through the wall 7 and opens into the upper part of the lower chamber.This pipe extends upwardly to near the top of the well where it isconnected to an air cock or valve 9 through which communication may behad with a flexible tube 10 connected to a pipe 11 leading to a sourceof supply of compressed air.

A pipe 12 extends from near the bottom of the lower chamber of the tankand the lower portion of the upper chamber. A check valve 18 is mountedon the end of said pipe. When the pressure in the lower chamber exceedsthat in the upper chamber, water will be forced into the upper chamber.When the pressure in the lower chamber is less than that in the upperchamber the check valve will close and prevent a flow of water out ofthe upper chamber into the lower chamber.

A pipe 14 extends through the head 5 of the tank and downwardly to nearthe bottom of the upper chamber. It is connected by means of a flexibletube 15 with a water main 16 through which the water is to be forced. Acheck valve 17 is mounted at the bottom of the lower chamber of the tankto permit ingress of water but to prevent egress thereof.

The air cock or valve 9 comprises a tubular part 18 which is internallyscrew-threaded at both ends. The art 19, provided with the seating andthe p ug or valve 20, is offset from said tubular part and incommunication therewith. The part 19 has a vent 21 and ducts 22, 23. Itis screw-threaded for connection with the pipe 24 by means of which theflexible pipe 10 is connected. The plug or valve 9 is so arranged thatit will give communication between the lower chamber and the source ofsupply of compressed air; and by a turn of approximately 90 will closesuchcommunication and opencommunication between the chamber and theatmosphere. The valve or cock 9 moves vertically with the tank and isautomatically operated in consequence. An arm 25 is rigidly connected tothe plug or valve 20. Alink26is pivotally mounted ona beam of a platform27 At its lower end the link is provided with a slot and is connected tothe arm 25 by means of a bolt 28 loosely passing through the slot. Whenthe tank rises the valve is turned so as to open communication betweenthe lower chamber and the atmosphere. When the tank descends the valveis turned so as to open communication between the source of supply ofcompressed air and the lower chamber.

A'closed pipe or solid rod 29 is connected to the upper end of thetubular portion of the valve 9. By this arrangement the thrust upon thevalve is taken up by the tubular portion and no thrust is applied to theportion carrying the plug. Consequently, the

' portion carrying the plug will not be dis torted by the thrust and thevalve will remain true and air tight indefinitely. The rod 29 extendsupwardly through the platform to the controlling mechanism.

To prevent a gradual ascent and descent of the tank as it is graduallyemptied or filled, controlling mechanism is rovided. This controllingmechanism can e so ar ranged and adjusted that the tendency to ascend ordescend will only become efiective when the lower chamber of the tank issubstantially empty or substantially full, respectively, and then thetank will instantly ascend or descend.

The controlling mechanism comprises a frame having a channeled base 50ada ted to embrace a beam 51 extending over t e top of the well. Fromthe center of said base rises a vertical semi-cylindrical column 52terminating in a circular disk 53. Said disk and said base havevertically alined holes through which the rod 29 extends. Wings 54, 55extend laterally from said column 1n substantially the center line ofsaid base.

Links 56, 57 are pivotally mounted near the lower outer corners of saidwings. The lower ends ofs'aid links are bifurcated and straddle and areguided by said wings. The links are thus maintained in substantially thesame vertical'plane. The upper ends of the links 56, 57 are alsobifurcated. A bell-crank lever 58 is fulcrumed in the link 57. At oneend it is pivotally connected to a bifurcated head 59 on the rod 29.Upon the other arm of the bell-crank lever, an arm 38 is pivotallymounted near the fulcrum of said bell-crank. This arm is screw-threadedat its upper end and carries a poise 39 which can be secured in anydesired position by a set-nut 40. An eye 41 is pivotally mounted on thefree end of the arm of the bell-crank lever 58. An eye 42 is pivotallymounted on said arm 38. Said eyes have holes in alinement with eachother, the hole in the eye 41 being screw-threaded. A screw 43 extendsthrough said eyes, the eye 42 being embraced between a collar 44 and thehead of the screw. It is obvious that the angle between the arm of thebell-crank lever and the arm 38 can be varied at will and thus theeffective movement of the weight 39 can be varied at will. By this meansthe bell-crank can be adjusted so that it will offer a less resistanceto upward movement of the tank than the downward movement thereof.

For large tanks or very deep wells the dead weight of the tank andconnections may be large in proportion to the weight of water displacedby the tank. To counterbalance the same or a definite portion of thesame a lever 60 is pivoted on the link 56 and is connected to the head59 of the rod 29. The free end of the lever is screw-threaded and apoise 61 is adjustably mounted thereon, a set-nut 62 being provided tohold said poise in any desired position of adjustment. For smallinstallations, the link 56, counterbalancing lever 60, and poise 61 maybe dispensed with, the bell-crank lever 58 being able to control therise and fall of the tank. The upward movement of the tank is limited bya collar 34 on the rod 29 which will engage the disk 53 at the top ofthe column 52 when the tank has reached its uppermost position.

A modification of the control mechanism is shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5. Itdiffers from the preferred form of control mechanism in having a fixedfulcrum for the bell-crank lever and in dispensing with thecounterbalancing lever. This controlling mechanism comrises aframe-plate 30 having flanges 31 at its lower edge by means of which itis secured to the platform 27. Rollers 32 are mounted on the face of theframe plate to guide the rod 29. The rod is also loosely guided by aflange 33 at the upper side of the frame plate. The rod 29 is providedwith a collar 34 below the flange 33 and an enlarged end 35 above theflange 3 3. These parts serve as stops to limit the up-and-down movementof the rod and consequently of the tank.

The rod 29 is connected at its up er end to the slotted end of one armof a be l-crank lever 36 pivotally mounted upon an arm 37 of the frameplate. Upon the other arm of the bell-crank lever, an arm 38 ispivotally mounted near the pivot of the bell-crank lever. Said arm 38 isscrew-threaded at its upper end and carries an adjustable poise 39 and aset nut 40. An internally screwthreaded eye 41 is pivotally mounted atthe end of the arm of the bellfcrank lever and an eye 42 is pivotallymounted on the arm 38 at a corresponding distance from the oint ofivotal connection of said arm 38 wit the bel f-crank lever. A screw 43passes through said eye 42 and hasscrew-threaded engagement with the eye41. Longitudinal movement of said screw with respect to the eye 42 isprevented by the head of the screw and a co ar 44. In view of thisorganization it will be seen that the arm 38 constitutes, in eifect, apart of the bell-crank lever, being rigidly although adjustably securedthereto. Thus, in effect, a compound bell-crank lever, the angle ofwhich is adjustable, is provided. It is obvious that a bell-crank leverhaving adjustably connected instead of rigidly connected arms, could besubstituted for the compound bell crank lever shown.

In the description of the operation of the device which followsreference will be made to,both forms of the controlling mechanismdisclosed as their operations are very similar. Assume the parts in theposition shown in Fig. 1. The lower chamber is in communication with theatmosphere and consequently pressure therein is relieved. The water willflow from the well through the check valve 17 into the lower chamber ofthe tank until the combined weight of the tank, the water therein andconnected parts'is suflicient to overcome the buoyant force due to thesubmersion of the tank and the resistance of the controlling mechanism.When this condition has been reached the tank will descend until thehead 59 or 35 strikes the disk 53 or flange 33, the controllingmechanismwill be thrown into the position shown in Figs. 1 and 3, andcommunication will be opened through the cock or valve 9 between thesource of supply of compressed air and the lower chamber of the tank.The water in the lower chamber of the tank being put under pressure, thecheck valve 17 will be closed. The water will flow through the pipe 12and check valve 13 into the upper chamber and will compress the airtrapped therein until the pressures in the two chambers are equalized.From the upper chamber the water may pass through the pipe 14 andflexible tube 15 to the main 16. When so much'water has been drawn offthrough the mains that the'combined weight of the tank and connectedparts, the water therein, and the force of resistance of the controllingmechanism is less than the buoyant force of the water in which the tankis submerged, the tank will rise until the collar 34 strikes the disk 53or flange 33 and the pressure in the lower chamber will be relieved.This will permit the lower chamber to refill. At the same time thepressure in the lower chamber is lower than that in the upper chamber,and, conse uently, the check valve 13 will be closed whi e the lowerchamber is refilling. The water in the upper chamber, however, is undersubstantially the pressure of the source of supply of compressed air andthe water can be delivered through the main during the entiretimethatthe lower chamber is refilling. The upper chamber needs to be only largeenough to contain I the maximum amount of water which can be drawn offduring the time the lower chamber is refilling.

The adjustment of the angle of the compound bell-crank lever will dependupon the relative weights of the tank and connected parts, and theweight of the volume of water displaced. On account of the considerablelength of the tank and its small diameter, its weight is much greater inproportion to its displacement than would be the case for a tank of thesame capacity but having a larger diameter and a shorter length. Consequently, when the lower chamber is empty, it is possible that thebuoyancy of the water will not be sufficiently great to raise the tank.In such case, it would be necessary to so adjust the arm 28 that thecontrolling mechanism will always exert a force tending to raise thetank, such force being greater when the tank is up than when it is down.Fig. 3 illustrates a case in which the relation of weights of the tankto the buoyancy of the water is such that a force a little greater thanis necessary to raise the tank is exerted. The controlling mechanism iscapable of adjustment, by varying the position of the arm 38 so thatcontrolling mechanism incorporating identical parts can be used fortanks of widely varying capacities and proportions.

Obviously, my invention is capable of considerable modification withinthe scope of my invention and, therefore, I do not wish to be limited tothe specific construction shown and described.

What I claim as my invention and desireto secure by Letters Patentis: 1. An automatic water supply system comprising a vertically movablesubmerged tank having a chamber provided with means for admitting waterand a chamber provided .with means for the outflow of water from a pointnear the bottom, a pipe leading from a point near the bottom of one ofsaid chambers to a point near the bottom of the other of said chambersand provided with a check valve, means automatically controlled by themovement of said tank for admitting air under pressure to said firstmentioned chamber, and means for controlling the movement of said tank.

2. An automatic water supply system comprising a vertically movablesubmerged tank having two sections, said sections being provided at theadjacent ends with internally threaded rings, an externally threaded 10flanged disk fitting in both of said rings and uniting said sections,and dividing said tank into two compartments, means for admitting waterto one of said compartments, means automatically controlled by themovement of said tank for admitting air under pressure to saidcompartment, the other of said compartments being provided with meansfor the outflow of water, means for communication between saidcompartments, and means for controlling the movement of said tank.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses at St. Louis, Missouri, this 27thday of June, 1905.

- JOHN JOHNSON.

Witnesses:

T.- PERCY CARR, J. B. MEGowN.

